The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2019 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2014: The trio of Nik Stauskas, Derrick Wal- ton Jr. and Caris LeVert stood tall in Michigan's 80-75 win at the Bre- slin Center in East Lansing Jan. 25. Stauskas and Walton scored 19 each and LeVert 17 in the takedown of the nation's No. 3 team. Walton proved especially effective down the stretch, making 9 of 10 free throws to help U-M put MSU away. LeVert grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Stauskas delivered some deadeye shooting (5 of 6 from three-point range) to help the Wol- verines rise to 15-4 overall and 7-0 in Big Ten play. The Spartans dropped to 18-2, suf- fering their first conference defeat to slip to 7-1. Michigan overcame one of the top teams in the nation and its own emo- tions in posting the win. The Wol- verines trailed most of the night, but took a three-point lead on a Staus- kas triple with under five minutes remaining. With the Breslin crowd ready to explode and four minutes left, Stauskas stepped between head coach John Beilein and an official. "He was about to get a technical," Stauskas contended. Beilein complimented Stauskas: "That's a great step in his leader- ship." The Wolverines finished strong, connecting on 14 of their 16 free throws in the final two minutes, with MSU desperately trying to claw its way back. After complaining about a foul call that wasn't made down the stretch, MSU head coach Tom Izzo succinctly offered: "The better team won." 10 YEARS AGO, 2009: Michigan posted a rare win at Indiana's As- sembly Hall, holding off the Hoo- siers in a 72-66 overtime victory Jan. 7. Beilein's crew managed an almost unbelievable comeback, ral- lying from a 39-22 halftime deficit at Indiana's house of horrors. Laval Lucas-Perry led the way with 18 points, while Manny Harris scored 17 and grabbed 11 rebounds. DeShawn Sims notched 14 points and seven rebounds, helping the Wolverines outscore Indiana 37-20 in the second half, then 13-7 in the five-minute extra period. U-M never led from the opening minutes until Kelvin Grady hit a three-pointer with 3:57 left in the overtime period. The Wolverines (13-3 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) took full advantage. "There are going to be games like this when you win ugly," Grady said. Lucas-Perry added: "We knew we weren't going to cut [the deficit] down all at once, and so we had to cut it down as much as we could." Lucas-Perry's three tied the game with 29 seconds left following a key steal by C.J. Lee. After that, the Wol- verines kept it going in overtime. "We just had to be the better team for five minutes," Lee pointed out. "It was as simple as that." 25 YEARS AGO, 1994: Michigan came away from the 1993 football season as something other than Big Ten champions for the first time in five years. The Wolverines took it out on North Carolina State come New Year's Day. Gary Moeller's crew pounded the Wolfpack, 42-7, scoring three touch- downs in each of the middle two quarters in the 1994 Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa Stadium. Michigan made big play after big play to pull away from the Wolfpack. The floodgates opened on a 26- yard TD sprint by tailback Tyrone Wheatley. Derrick Alexander then raced back 79 yards with a punt re- turn touchdown, and quarterback Todd Collins tossed a 31-yard strike to wideout Amani Toomer, putting the Wolverines up at the half, 21-0. Wheatley wound up with 124 yards rushing and a pair of touch- downs, helping the Wolverines in the rout. "The seniors and the captains gathered everybody up and said, 'Hey, we have to play,'" Wheatley said. "Coach Moeller stressed that you just can't lay down and expect everyone else to lay down with us." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Nik Stauskas tied for the team lead with 19 points, made 5 of 6 three-point attempts and even prevented head coach John Beilein from picking up a technical foul in an 80-75 upset at No. 3 Michigan State Jan. 25, 2014. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN